Spyderco Shaman - Knife Joker Exclusive

This video is a review of the Spyderco Shaman exclusive from The Knife Joker in CPM CruWear. The video has discussion on the build of the knife and the steel. The video documents use and sharpening, and has discussion on how the knife sharpens.
theknifejoker.com

[@kenmarapese9085]

I waited for a sprint run, picked one up in M4 and I'm happy with it. In an interview Sal Glessar stated that he had wanted to produce this folder for a long time. He finally did it when he retired. He also stated the Shaman was intended to be a hard use out door work knife. Excluding you several knife reviewers were disappointed with the thickness behind the edge, but a slicer wasn't the designers intention. I appreciate that you looked at the parameters of the design and understood it was a hard use work knife. I envy your edges.

[@wrjames38]

I agree 100%. Most youtube reviews barely use their knives , Let alone cut anything tough/hard. The Shaman is awesome

[@gregoryburke2562]

I’m glad you chose to do this video because my Spyderco Shaman with CRUWEAR and Brown Micarta could use sharpening.

[@manifestgtr]

Cruwear shaman and the z-wear mule fixed blade are my go-to, do anything, hard use Spydercos. If I’m hunting, I might bring along a stretch, too…or a delica/chaparral for fishing trips but that’s just for convenience really. The shaman is just slicey enough to get basically anything done. The only thing I don’t like it for is cardboard. It works but an endura is where it’s at for cardboard

[@formationit5039]

Very good assessment of the knife,, Michael. I do love my Cruware Micarta version. Some of the best ergo's. I do find how the choil but protrudes into the compression lock odd but I'm used to it.

[@timbo4374]

I had no idea this was coming. Cruwear is a great steel.takes such a good edge, easy to sharpen, holds an edge well. Spydercos DLC holds up extremely well..my old 52100 Manix has been used hard, and the coating is still in good shape. It shows some wear, but if you clean it and put a light oil on it, it looks almost new again. I have the M4 version of the Shaman, so I'll probably pass on this one like I have the other sprints and exclusives. I just don't need 2 of them regardless of the steel. I'm very happy with the M4.

[@mr.delacruz559]

Awesome Shaman Michael! Like I said this has to be the sickest shaman to come out to date! I ended up not taking of advantage of the opportunity I had to grab this one & ended up getting the Rex45 In the Rosewood scales. I haven’t had a chance to experience Rex45 but I’m really looking forward to using it. I think it will go great with my traditional slipjoints. As far as the smooth G10 I love the smooth G10 on my Manix 2 in Cruwear with the smooth Black G10 Scales. One of my favorite scales as far as comfort & grip as a whole. Keep up the damn awesome content & like alway thank you for the knowledge! Always dropping gems! 👍🏼👌🏼

[@michaelchristy4982]

Mr.DeLaCruz 559 thank you.

[@seff2318]

That’s a sexy knife. I’ve been enjoying the venev stones very much. I need to do some more testing with the 800/1200 before I do another video. I know exactly what you mean by sharpeners needing to experience stones to know how they sharpen and finish. There’s a large difference between plates and resin bonded but surprisingly a very similar “action” with vitrified diamond. I’m also glad you brought up your point about hair whittling. It’s something I’ve only experienced recently. I initially thought it was an inadequacy in my sharpening but at the same time the knife simply felt sharper.

[@ReclusiveMountainMan]

Really enjoyed the discussion. Great job presenting material and your thoughts. Thank you. Been thinking about picking up a Shaman for a while.

[@michaelchristy4982]

ReclusiveMountainMan you should. It’s an impressive knife.

[@guyfox577]

Nice video Michael! And nice knife Travis! I very much look forward to when i have mine in hand!! 😀

[@carknelson5895]

I wish I liked the shaman model. Spyderco is really showing love to the Shaman. I’m more of an Endura fan. I just picked up a Gritomatic silicon carbide 240 and 1000 stone and a Shapton glass 500 and 2000 along with a Shapton pro 5000.

[@michaelchristy4982]

Cark Nelson right on. Enjoy those stones. Also, the Endura is a great model.

[@CNYKnifeNerd]

Those are great stones

[@jonmichaelhayden456]

Great video as always, and a shout out to my favorite online retailer, The Knife Joker.

[@Cycletroll]

Nice review and sharpening commentary Michael!

[@colinkelley7807]

Are you done, Mike? Ever coming back with more content?

[@steeltoez8345]

I snagged the rosewood rex45 version as my first shaman. Both pre-orders were released like 24 hours apart. Giving the community options is a smart move in my opinion. My guess on cruwear only being fitted to Sprint runs and exclusives is the demand could be too high. And not keeping up with a steady production schedule would alienate customers.

[@cp1532]

Absolutely agree, Ken's 3k leaves a finer finish than any of the DMT EEFs I've ever tried. It may very well be equal to a 3k japanese waterstone, but the thing is, all other diamond plates are much coarser than their JIS equivalents.

[@ASOKAEdge]

Great video. I like how you continue to experiment and evolve in your sharpening methods 👍

[@TheTedMeister]

Another great video Michael Christy!

[@Hayabusa_Rider]

I just recently became a knife joker customer. Travis has a really great selection of what I like and amazing prices. Plus he is a super nice guy that will personally takes time to answer questions. I learned about him in your channel in fact. Now... he’s my go to guy for knives. What’s your view on cru-wear vs. maxamet? Mostly for tough use at work.... cardboard, we get into rocks and dirt... wood... we get tough on blades with what I do. Is there another steel you would recommend instead for really tough use? Your channel is really informative and I appreciate your time in making them to help keep us informed when making choices on purchases. Thanks.

[@michaelchristy4982]

Busa Rider CruWear is much tougher then Maxamet. In fact, Maxamet is not very tough at all. I would say CruWear is probably a good choice for what you’re describing... or 3V.

[@Hayabusa_Rider]

Michael Christy .....Thanks Michael! Thoughts on m4....? I edc a 560-1 super freak and it seems to be holding up pretty good so far. I’m recently getting into the paramilitary2.... I think a cru-wear one is in the cards now. I’m not familiar with 3v ... what does it compare with? Keep up the great work here. Much appreciated ..... Mike K.

[@michaelchristy4982]

Busa Rider 3V is similar to CruWear, but tougher.

[@NORTHWESTKNIFEGUY]

A very enjoyable video, I'm gonna have to pick up one of the Venev stones.

[@stevenlachance8576]

They sell out fast at least the 8x3’s in the 800-2000 Fepa or 7/5, 3/2 and 1/0 micron.

[@AMC_Custom_PC]

Can not wait for mine anymore I need it!

[@michaelchristy4982]

Alex Carrasquillo right on.

[@MountaineerSamurai]

Great review and opinion. Well done. Beautiful knife!

[@docwillis1443]

Knife joker just released the lil native today in the same steel and green G10.

[@knifevideochannel4657]

Awesome video Mike! Looking to pick this up along with the Rex 45 Sprint. I'm glad Travis took the gamble and had this commissioned! Hopefully more exclusives from the Knife Joker are on the horizon. BTW, Wasn't the REC Para 3 PVD coated?

[@wrjames38]

Yes , The Rivers Edge Cutlery Para 3 CTS -204P blade was PVD coated.

[@justinpatrickhoffman]

Please review the Cold Steel AD-10. Thanks for your work!

[@michaelchristy4982]

Justin Hoffman tell Coldsteel to send me one.

[@michaelchristy4982]

Justin Hoffman also, thanks.

[@johnd9357]

In my experience DLC shows almost no wear. You’re going to cut things and see marks in the DLC, but clean the coating with some soap and water, then oil it slightly and you won’t see any marks. DLC is pretty hard and doesn’t scratch easily at all. It also doesn’t actually protect against corrosion. If you neglect the blade it can and will rust through the coating. With that said, the porous nature of DLC will hold onto oil and protect the blade very well.

[@stevenlachance8576]

Michael a sharpening question, I picked up some powerfull rare earth magnets thinking that they might be able to pull swarf metal fragments off stones and strops. It does not work, so does sharpening demagnetize the metal? If so are there other chemical structural changes? Going to ask around.

[@michaelchristy4982]

Steven Lachance I don’t know if sharpening demagnetizes metal, but there are other ways to clean off stones and strops.

[@CNYKnifeNerd]

Its definitely gonna be my first shaman. Ive sold most of my cruwear spyderco models, none of them were ever really well suited for cruwear, they were all better, for me, with high edge retention vs high toughness. The shaman really seems like the best spyderco model for Cruwear. Do you have much experience with Spyderco's DLC coating? My most used pm2 has an M4/DLC blade and if i wash it and oil it, it still looks totally unused, after over a year of daily use. It could definitely just be the video, but your shaman looks like its showing wear in the DLC similar to how, for example, my reate prism shows wear, and im not even sure if the prism uses real DLC. It definitely feels more 'glossy' than the 'velvety' feel of Spyderco's DLC. If you have experience with other spyderco models with DLC coating, would you say the shaman feels similar?

[@michaelchristy4982]

Eyedea315 in my experience, Spyderco’s DLC coating is very good.

[@shadow6pt533]

Is there a reason why the shaman would be better than a pm2 for hard use? I think the blades are same thickness.

[@michaelchristy4982]

Brandon Talley the Shaman is more heavily built. It’s not just about the spine thickness.

[@seanp1129]

Mike, where the heck did you find Ken's full size plates? Never seen anything other than the Edge Pro size.

[@michaelchristy4982]

Sean Preston I always deal directly with Ken.

[@kenneths123]

Sean just give me a call 209 612 2790

[@robertmorano2372]

I just sharpened my first Spyderco endura. Good ol' vg-10. I went 1000 king deluxe, then 4000 king deluxe, followed by 1 micron diamond spray on leather. The knife came out beautiful. Afterwards, the action was very gritty. I noticed the knife was pinned together. Do you just rinse it under water, or let it go and the grittiness will go away? Another side note is that the sharpening was for a buddy. I want to gift him a strop setup just for maintenance. Is there a better strop setup for vg-10 than 1 micron diamond spray on cow hide?

[@michaelchristy4982]

Robert Morano 1 mic on leather is fine for VG-10. I would try flushing the joint with oil before rinsing water into it.

[@chrissabo923]

I’ve been to country knives I NC a couple times it was nice to have all those knives to put in hand but them MSRP prices are ridiculous

[@gtothee5723]

Chris Sabo can you help me find them? They got a website?

[@chrissabo923]

Garrett Eicher Yes they have a website and they are in intercourse PA but they are MSRP only you will pay high price

[@chrissabo923]

Garrett Eicher Country knives inc

[@1fareast14]

Prefer this or the micarta handles?

[@thoricdavid8174]

Was this available on preorder? Or is the release in a few days?

[@andrewcocho2467]

I really enjoyed the video. By any chance can you make a video on how to sharpen a spydeco knive and the different plates to use. I’m new to the community or any recomendations

[@michaelchristy4982]

Andrew Cocho sure. Just look at some of the videos on my channel.

[@andrewcocho2467]

I sure will... thank you

[@michaelchristy4982]

Andrew Cocho everything on the channel has sharpening content, even the reviews, so there’s lots to reference.

[@JDStone20]

Nice work Mike!

[@kevinfitz3721]

I'm waiting for the rex45 shaman if I do get lucky it will be my first shaman and even rex45, however i did just get done sharpening a manix 2 in cpm cruwear and it was a breeze

[@carknelson5895]

KILLERFITZzz86 ! Knifecenter still has the Rex45 Shamans available they named it Treerex it’s in Rosewood

[@kevinfitz3721]

@@carknelson5895 thanks for the heads up appreciate it man!

[@georgefrazier8404]

Michael, which strops are you using now, Homemade or store bought, which material on the strop do you use ?

[@michaelchristy4982]

George Frazier lately I’ve been using a strop sent to me by a friend. It was made by Northwestknifeguy on IG. I use Poly Diamond emulsions from Ken Schwartz almost exclusively.

[@burtjoubert]

Hey Michael, talking about the Venev OCB stones, what have you found as a finisher with the 1200grit 100% Vs 1200grit 25% stone? My thoughts are that it should not make a difference, other than taking a bit longer to polish, seeing that it has the same binder and the same diamond particle size. Gritomatic lists the 25% as more of a polished finish but I don't think this is really valid. Any thoughts?

[@michaelchristy4982]

Burt Joubert I would need to try both.

[@leotam3372]

Which Venev Diamond was the old one? The Phoenix? ($80-100 for a double sided) - the new one is the dragon series, right? (The ones that start at $150?)

[@ramonrodriguez5728]

👍👍 cruwear vs. 4v?

[@mrsavedbygrace2569]

I'm still wondering what the action is like opening and closing?

[@michaelchristy4982]

MrSavedby Grace it’s good. It was a little stiff out of the box, but quickly loosened up with use.

[@romanhillstrom8056]

I got a rosewood and honestly the lockup is really solid, the knife is substantial and seriously beefy. Kinda hard to flick open because of the weight but like Michael's mine loosened up quick and is butter smooth now.

[@toni6036]

Hi Michael, what do you think of LC200N steel? Thanks and regards from Barcelona, Spain. Postscript: I hope one day to know how to sharpen like you and not use the Lansky.

[@michaelchristy4982]

Toni I really like LC200N. I worked with it on a knife that I bought for my brother. It took an amazing edge. I just don’t have it on any knives of my own.

[@thierryb2725]

Thank you for your vidéo 👍🏼🙂

[@miguelgomez7707]

I’m looking at the Venev ocb stones, and I’m ready to purchase a couple, but I need to ask, ¿are your Venev stones 100% diamond concentration or 25%? Gritomatic has these two options on their website but I’m not sure which one to go for, I just know that your sharpening skills are awesome and I want to get the same stones you use on your videos. (I currently carry a Spyderco S110v, and needs to be sharpened)

[@michaelchristy4982]

Miguel Gomez all the 8x3’s are 100% concentration

[@miguelgomez7707]

Michael Christy Where do you buy your spyderco knives? I want to get a knife in Rex 45

[@michaelchristy4982]

Miguel Gomez you can get them at riversedgecutlery.com or the knife joker.com or Knifeworks.com or BladeHQ or Knifecenter

[@angelos5348]

Hey Mike what ki d of sprays and pasted do you use? I'm looking for something new but alot of stuff out there is junk. Is there anything you recommend?

[@michaelchristy4982]

Angelo S I use Poly Diamond Emulsion from Ken Schwartz. It’s very high quality.

[@angelos5348]

@@michaelchristy4982 thanks for the reply. I actually just ordered some a few different sizes. Excited to try it.

[@kirbyaloha420]

Do you sharpen viewer knives? I'd love to have you put an edge like this on my benchmade

[@michaelchristy4982]

Shocktop Buhlig I do some sharpening jobs here and there, but I’m often too busy with work and I’m picky about what I’ll sharpen.

[@jasonburns956]

Do you prefer this over the cru wear para?

[@michaelchristy4982]

Jason Burns that’s apples to oranges. It would depend on the type of knife you want in your carry.

[@jasonburns956]

Michael Christy does the ken Schwartz 3k finish finer than the spyderco uf

[@michaelchristy4982]

Jason Burns it’s a different kind of stone. I use them for different things. I guess the short answer is no, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. I never use the UF for finish. I use it for sharpness. The 3K is a late step in the progression.

[@alexgolden8316]

Where do you get your compound?

[@coffeeandlifting]

The Shaman ergos actually are perfect for me. Its just a little bit larger and fuller in all the places that I wanted. I was kind of bummed that the Native Chief didn't follow the profile of the Shaman (specifically the wider choil and rounded edges) because I really like the back lock on the Golden knives. The Shaman is pretty much my favorite though. The compression lock is exceptional as well.

[@PaulK390S90V]

I have a Rex 45 Shaman with the rosewood dymonwood scales coming Monday or Tuesday. So happy to see Spyderco making all these models with Rex 45...the para series really were insane popular. You getting any of the models in Rex 45?? I really wanted to hold out for the burnt orange shaman but didn't want to miss out so grabbed one of the knife center exclusives

[@michaelchristy4982]

Paul Lonardo I couldn’t say what I’m getting next. I’m still trying recover from Christmas.

[@PaulK390S90V]

@@michaelchristy4982 Dude I hear ya...I've still been spending like my checks are twice as big and its killing me. Going from 65hrs a week to 40hrs a week is brutal! Gotta start selling some knives I think. I have almost 300 and many I haven't even touched in months so I'm starting to lean towards that I don't need that many lol

[@hidude2124]

I forgot you used plates here. Still I want more plates

[@motomissle]

I just ordered a ti CB military from brian at old country knives

[@J_Dukes]

I want this too bad sold out as soon as it dropped

[@michaelchristy4982]

John Dukes the preorder is sold out. The regular drop is on Feb 1st.

[@johnd9357]

You get this one early?

[@michaelchristy4982]

John D I couldn’t say.

[@johnd9357]

Michael Christy supposedly they aren’t shipping till the 1st. Haha. I PM’d Travis on Instagram but he didn’t seem very interested in even letting me preorder. Oh well.

[@michaelchristy4982]

John D the preorders are sold out I believe. What’s left has to be grabbed when they drop.

[@roughroosterknifesharpenin5531]

I’m surprised you got one of them

[@michaelchristy4982]

Rough Rooster Knife Sharpening why?

[@roughroosterknifesharpenin5531]

Michael Christy that’s a lot thicker behind the edge than you typically go for.

[@michaelchristy4982]

Rough Rooster Knife Sharpening that’s very true.

[@yasec-life]

I'll take your CruCarta since you got that one... :eyes:

[@michaelchristy4982]

Casey Boatman Lol, I’ll take both.

[@markjg2275]

Knife joker had these Saturday February 1, 2020 a second run for sale at 11:00 Am , I tried to look out of curiosity how fast they would sell not to buy one and you could not access their website. Their website is a JOKE , it must have crashed from all these knife nuts trying to buy one of these . These exclusives and sprint runs have become nothing but a frenzy like drug addicts needing a fix . I had the First Shaman in Cruwear and brown Micarta and sold it , because these are no big deal really just different handles and steel and not worth the money at least to me . I now am switching to small fixed blades for Every day carry more reliable and keep a inexpensive folder as a backup. Spyderco are good knives but the sprint runs are out of control in limited availability and high cost , the offerings of Spyderco under $100 are good enough for me I could care less about these super steels. Just my opinion buy what you like.

[@michaelchristy4982]

Mark JG well, at least you got all that off your chest.

[@georgeyoung4292]

Most used phrase here "dida good jobbb wthit" 🤣

[@hidude2124]

How did I know

[@michaelchristy4982]

Hi Dude you noticed that I was MIA all the sudden?

[@hidude2124]

Michael Christy I knew you would post a video on this

[@1130jawz]

I know, I hate the whole grit rating, micron, blah blah blah, I have no clue, the extra fine sharpmaker rods, then a strop do fairly well for me. Knives plus preloaded strop can’t be beat for price, wears out and buy a new one with no 😭.

[@michaelchristy4982]

Joshua Wilson you should try Poly diamond emulsion on a strop. It’s much more effective.

[@1130jawz]

Michael Christy I’ll give it a whirl. Thanks for the info. 👍

[@kashman2426]

Sold out. Everywhere sold out, other than black G10.

[@michaelchristy4982]

KASHMAN24 this is an exclusive from theknifejoker.com so you won’t find it anywhere else. The drop is on February 1st. Go to the website and look into it.

[@rangerover6519]

What makes someone ramble on for 14 1/2 minutes when it all could be said in about 3 minutes !!???

[@michaelchristy4982]

Range Rover little buddy, that’s just the kind of guy I am. It’s bad that I do it, but it’s even worse that you watch it.

[@michaelwhitehead4446]

Easy to talk from the sidelines. Please provide a link with your video.